酷兔英语
    当前位置:
  1. 首页
  2. 文章
  3. 娱乐英语
  4. 原版小说
  5. 正文

Modeste Mignon-Part32_Honore de Balzac(1799-1850)_Translated Works(翻译文学)-第2页

0 收藏 0 分享 0 赞

章节正文
文章总共2页


"Mademoiselle," said Ernest, in a voice that was scarcely his own, "it

is impossible for me to remain any longer under the weight of your



displeasure. I do not defend myself; I do not seek to justify my

conduct; I desire only to make you see that BEFORE reading your most



flattering letter, addressed to the individual and no longer to the

poet,--the last which you sent to me,--I wished, and I told you in my



note written at Havre that I wished, to correct the error under which

you were acting. All the feelings that I have had the happiness to



express to you are sincere. A hope dawned on me in Paris when your

father told me he was comparatively poor,--but now that all is lost,



now that nothing is left for me but endless regrets, why should I stay

here where all is torture? Let me carry away with me one smile to live



forever in my heart."

"Monsieur," answered Modeste, who seemed cold and absent-minded, "I am



not the mistress of this house; but I certainly should deeply regret

to retain any one where he finds neither pleasure nor happiness."



She left La Briere and took Madame Dumay's arm to re-enter the house.

A few moments later all the actors in this domestic scene reassembled



in the salon, and were a good deal surprised to see Modeste sitting

beside the Duc d'Herouville and coquetting with him like an



accomplished Parisian woman. She watched his play, gave him the advice

he wanted, and found occasion to say flattering things by ranking the



merits of noble birth with those of genius and beauty. Canalis thought

he knew the reason of this change; he had tried to pique Modeste by



calling marriage a catastrophe, and showing that he was aloof from it;

but like others who play with fire, he had burned his fingers.



Modeste's pride and her present disdain frightened him, and he

endeavored to recover his ground, exhibiting a jealousy" target="_blank" title="n.妒忌；猜忌">jealousy which was all



the more visible because it was artificial. Modeste, implacable as an

angel, tasted the sweets of power, and, naturally enough, abused it.



The Duc d'Herouville had never known such a happy evening; a woman

smiled on him! At eleven o'clock, an unheard-of hour at the Chalet,



the three suitors took their leave,--the duke thinking Modeste

charming, Canalis believing her excessively coquettish, and La Briere



heart-broken by her cruelty.

For eight days the heiress continued to be to her three lovers very



much what she had been during that evening; so that the poet appeared

to carry the day against his rivals, in spite of certain freaks and



caprices which from time to time gave the Duc d'Herouville a little

hope. The disrespect she showed to her father, and the great liberties



she took with him; her impatience with her blind mother, to whom she

seemed to grudge the little services which had once been the delight



of her filial piety,--seemed the result of a capricious nature and a

heedless gaiety indulged from childhood. When Modeste went too far,



she turned round and openly took herself to task, ascribing her

impertinence and levity to a spirit of independence. She acknowledged



to the duke and Canalis her distaste for obedience, and professed to

regard it as an obstacle to her marriage; thus investigating the



nature of her suitors, after the manner of those who dig into the

earth in search of metals, coal, tufa, or water.



"I shall never," she said, the evening before the day on which the

family were to move into the villa, "find a husband who will put up



with my caprices as my father does; his kindness never flags. I am

sure no one will ever be as indulgent to me as my precious mother."



"They know that you love them, mademoiselle," said La Briere.

"You may be very sure, mademoiselle, that your husband will know the



full value of his treasure," added the duke.

"You have spirit and resolution enough to discipline a husband," cried



Canalis, laughing.

Modeste smiled as Henri IV. must have smiled after drawing out the



characters of his three principal ministers, for the benefit of a

foreign ambassador, by means of three answers to an insidious



question.

On the day of the dinner, Modeste, led away by the preference she



bestowed on Canalis, walked alone with him up and down the gravelled




文章总共2页
文章标签:翻译  译文  翻译文  

章节正文
Copyright © 2023 Qeto All rights reserved.
商务合作 | 联系我们 | 关于我们 | 版权声明 | 隐私条款 | 如果智培

京ICP备05059198号-1 京公网安备 11011202003401号